Hemanth M Rao, an acclaimed Kannada director, has slammed IIFA 2024 for wasting his time being disrespectful during the award ceremony at IFFA Utsavam. Taking to his social media handle, the Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side A and Side B) director penned a long note,

Kannada director Hemanth M Rao, who is known for his critically-acclaimed film Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side A and Side B), has criticised the IIFA awards for being disrespectful and not being transparent enough in their selection process.

Kannada director Hemanth Rao had a fairly terrible experience at the IIFA Awards this year. He complained that despite being invited and made to wait until 3 a.m., he was not handed an award. The director described the episode as "extremely disrespectful" and stated that he was furious not because he did not get an award but because his time had been wasted.